Through a Father's Eyes
by Poetgirl925
Summary: A series of one-shots and drabbles set in different episodes as Max ponders Brennan's relationship with Booth.  First up, 'Aliens in a Spaceship'
1. Aliens in a Spaceship

**This will be a series of one-shots and drabbles set in different episodes as Max ponders Brennan's relationship with Booth; therefore, all action takes place from Max's POV. I started with my favorite episode, Aliens in a Spaceship, because it was the one that gave me the idea in the first place several months ago. I'm hoping this exercise will help me write the B&B scenes I need in order to finish my ongoing fic 'The Bones in the Dungeon.' I'm having some trouble writing a "Boothy" Booth lately, mainly because his "Boothyness" was absent for much of Season 5 and so far in Season 6 I just want to give him a swift kick in the pants. I hope you enjoy my first one-shot and please remember to review and let me know your thoughts! :)**

Max whistled as he stepped into the kitchen to pour his morning coffee. He took a sip of the black brew and reached for the remote to turn on the morning newscast. He set about making a breakfast of eggs and toast as he listened with half an ear to what was happening around the nation. He caught part of a story about the discovery of two teenage boys who had been buried alive several years earlier by someone known as the Gravedigger. He snorted as he mentally scoffed at the ridiculous name that some reporter had no doubt been responsible for.

He sat down at the table and turned his full attention to the screen. A rather brittle looking blonde stood on the steps in front of the Hoover building in Washington D.C. A man with black hair and darker features now stood next to her. He looked nervous, running a hand through his hair and tugging at the collar of his shirt as he waited for her to finish speaking.

"I have Thomas Vega here with us now, the man who wrote the book on the Gravedigger after leaving the FBI. Mr. Vega, there are rumors that another kidnapping has taken place since the discovery of the Kent boys. What can you tell us about this developing story?"

Max took a bite of his eggs as he watched Vega take a deep breath. "I've been authorized to release the names of the two kidnap victims in order to make an appeal on their behalf. Last night two members of the investigative team working the case were kidnapped from the underground parking structure at the Jeffersonian Instititute. Dr. Jack Hodgins and Dr. Temperance Brennan are believed to have been buried alive by the Gravedigger, who has demanded a ransom in exchange for their release."

Max felt the fork he was holding fall from suddenly nerveless fingers. _It was a mistake_, he thought to himself. _Not my baby girl, not Tempe_. Breakfast forgotten, he stood and walked to sit directly in front of the small television as the man, Vega, continued to speak.

"I've been asked to deliver a message to the Gravedigger. If you're listening, we need more time in order to raise the money for the ransom. Without proof of life our hands are tied."

Max watched as the reporter now began to focus on this new angle, the Kent boys' story pushed aside in light of juicier news. Pictures flashed across the screen of his daughter from various news articles along with press releases related to her book that had been published the previous year. She reported on Tempe's academic success followed by the many cases she had helped the FBI to solve since partnering with Special Agent Seeley Booth. A picture showed the two posed together in her lab, Booth's hand resting comfortably on her shoulder.

He shook himself from his stupor and stood, walking to the counter to open a locked drawer. He removed a small, untraceable cell phone and began to make calls. Max would call in every favor anyone had ever owed him and he would find out what hole that Gravedigger bastard had crawled into and then... then he would kill him. An hour later he was frustrated as he waited to see what information might come from the flurry of calls he'd made. He might have been out of the game for a while, but he still knew the ballpark and who was running the bases. If there was any information to be had he knew he would find it.

Suddenly there was a lot of movement on the screen and he sat forward, a mixture of dread and hope clutching at his chest. Several vehicles tore out of the parking structure of the FBI building, sirens blaring. The newscast switched to footage of similar activity from the Jeffersonian building as the reporter continued her speculation.

"We've just been informed that the FBI believes they have located the area where Dr. Brennan and Dr. Hodgins may have been buried. We intend to report to you live from that location as we bring you more on this developing story." The reporter signed off as coverage switched to local news once more.

Max clenched his fists as he flipped channels, desperately looking for another station covering the story. He finally found what he was looking for on a national news network. Reporters had apparently followed the FBI vehicles to a quarry outside of the D.C. metro area and were now reporting live amid a hive of activity. Max didn't believe in God or prayer, but he would have made a deal with any god or devil in that moment if it meant he could see his baby one more time. He and Ruthie had sacrificed everything to keep their kids safe and the idea that Tempe might be ... he couldn't finish the thought.

Suddenly there was a change in the activity on the screen - more sirens as another ambulance arrived and then he saw paramedics rushing past the barricade that had been set up to keep the press out. Max sat forward, afraid to breathe, fists clenched so tight he could no longer feel his fingers, waiting, and then he saw her. Agent Booth walked beside her, a protective arm around her shoulders as he led her past the line of reporters. Several of the reporters surged forward, microphones out as they shouted questions, but one hostile look from the tall, forbidding agent had them falling back again. While the cameras were too far away to pick up sound, Max could clearly see the protective stance Booth adopted as he stood over his daughter. He watched as the paramedics urged Tempe to accept an oxygen mask and checked her for any injuries that might need to be dealt with immediately.

The camera switched to another scene for a moment as he saw a man being carried on a stretcher through the barricade and lifted into an ambulance. He was followed closely by a tall woman with long, dark hair. Max assumed it was Dr. Hodgins and he wondered how severe the man's injuries were since he was apparently unable to walk. The camera switched back to Tempe as she removed the oxygen mask in order to speak to her partner. While her face was composed, Max noticed that her hands were shaking. She must have noticed it too because she suddenly clasped them together just as Booth stepped forward and rested both of his hands on hers. No words were exchanged but he detected the slightest shift in his daughter's expression as she looked at her partner. Booth reached one hand up to brush some dirt off her cheek and then suddenly he pulled Tempe closer, wrapping both arms around her tightly.

Max felt the anxiety of the last couple of hours slide away as he watched the two of them together. He had kept up with his daughter over the years and he knew that she spent much of her time alone. People skills had never been easy for her and Max had worried about his baby being alone in the world and too wrapped up in her work with the dead to let the living get close to her. Not for the first time, Max was thankful for Booth's presence in her life because she wasn't alone anymore. If he couldn't be there for his baby girl, he was glad this man could be.


	2. The Doctor in the Photo

**First, thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites - the response to the first one-shot was amazing and there is clearly more interest in this thread than I thought there would be. I personally love Max and wish we saw more of him on the show, especially now when poor Brennan is struggling alone with her feelings :(**

**This one-shot is based on the promo for next week's episode, The Doctor in the Photo, but only in the very loosest sense of the word. I haven't read sides or any specific spoilers and there is only one small piece of information from the promo that I specifically address here; it deals with how Brennan is immersing herself in the case. This is mostly how I imagine Max would react if he saw Brennan struggling to adapt to her new role in Booth's life (or lack thereof) this season. I'm not a Booth basher, though he clearly has issues at the moment, but I doubt Max would give him a pass here so that's what I went with. I hope you like it - please review and if anyone has suggestions on what they might like to see from this thread please let me know. :)**

**Disclaimer - I do not pretend to own the characters of the show. Frankly, I'm happy I can claim no responsibility for the mess currently known as Season 6 :P**

When Booth arrived at the Jeffersonian to pick up Parker from the after school science program, he found both his son and Max with Hodgins, their three heads bent together as they examined a sample of a rare type of moth Hodgins had just received.

Parker's eyes lit up as he saw his father approach. "Dad come here, you gotta see this!"

Booth ran a hand over Parker's head as he listened to his son describe the moth while Hodgins looked on proudly.

"I think we have a budding entomologist on our hands here," Hodgins remarked fondly.

Parker shook his head. "Bugs are cool but I think I'd rather do what Bones does, or be a professional baseball player. Hey Dad, did you know that Bones even_ talks _to the bones?"

"What do you mean she talks to the bones, buddy?" Booth asked, puzzled.

"This new case she's working on, she talks to that lady's bones. I know 'cuz I heard her talking and I was gonna ask her why but Angela said maybe I shouldn't bother her right then. She couldn't hear me anyway 'cuz she was wearing earphones. But it was kind of cool because it was like a whole conversation, like the lady was answering her. Do you think she was answering her, like magic? Maybe Bones is like the Bone Whisperer, like the guy who talks to dogs."

Booth felt a funny catch in his chest as he looked at Hodgins and Max. "Is this true?" He knew the case had been bothering Brennan but he somehow hadn't imagined it to be that bad.

"Shouldn't you be the one giving us the answers, Booth? You're her partner, after all. If you don't know what's going on then I'd say there's a problem." The expression in Max's eyes was slightly dangerous as he pulled off his gloves and tossed them in the trash can. He'd watched his daughter struggle with this case for days, retreating further and further into her work and away from all of her friends. It was clear to him that Tempe saw herself in the victim and the fact that Booth was largely unaware of the pain she was in made him angry.

Even Parker could pick up on the sudden tension in the room and Hodgins looked decidedly uncomfortable. Parker looked between Max and Booth. "Max, are you mad at my Dad?"

Max smiled at Parker and ruffled his hair. "Of course not."

Parker looked doubtful. "You looked at him the same way Mom looked at me the time I used the coffee table to scrape dog poop off my shoe and she was_ really _mad."

"I guess we all step in it sometimes," Max said lightly. He knew he was goading Booth, but considering the fact that he felt like doing far worse he felt he was showing remarkable restraint. _You'd be proud Ruthie_, he thought as he watched Booth's expression grow darker.

Booth's jaw clenched and Hodgins hastily stepped in. "Ok Parker, time to go check on those cocoons before you leave." Parker forgot all about what was going on between Max and Booth as he followed eagerly behind Hodgins.

Max turned his back on Booth and started straightening up the lab station. Booth stared at him, waiting, but when it became clear that Max considered the conversation done he spoke. "What's going on with Bones?"

Max didn't even look up. "Maybe you should be asking her."

Booth felt his frustration growing. Finally, he admitted, "I know this case is affecting her more than usual but when I asked her about it a couple of days ago she said she was fine." What he didn't add was that she had shut him down in a way she hadn't done since the first few months of their partnership and while it had bothered him, he let had let it go like so many other things lately.

Max snorted. "Well, if you asked her about it once two whole days ago then I'd say you've done all you could." He reminded himself he'd already killed one member of the FBI - he doubted he could play that card twice and get away with it.

"If you have something to say, Max, then just come out and say it," Booth shot back, reaching the end of his patience.

"If I say what I really want to say right now then one of us will probably start punching and I'm not as young as I used to be." Max turned to face Booth as he continued, "I've always had a soft spot for you Booth. You took care of my daughter when she didn't know she needed anyone to take care of her. You took her out of the lab and into the world and you helped her discover that she had so much more to give. You helped all of us - me, Russ and Tempe - to be a family again. I'll always be grateful to you for that but the truth is that right now I wish my daughter had never met you."

Booth was wound tight now as he listened to Max. "Would you care to explain that?"

Max pursed his lips - restraint be damned. "That's my point - if you'd been paying attention the last couple of months I wouldn't have to explain it. You've been partners and friends for longer than some marriages work out, Booth. She's always trusted you but ever since you came back, parading your girlfriend through the lab like the shiny new sports car a man buys when his midlife crisis hits, all I've seen you do is treat her like she's somehow less important now."

Booth felt a surge of anger as he fired back. "You don't get to pass judgment on me or my relationship with Bones. She knows how important she is to me and Hannah hasn't changed that."

"If that's what you really think then you're fooling yourself. Tempe's life is revolving more and more around work lately. She stays when everyone else is gone. According to the night guard she's working later and later, and last weekend she didn't go home." Max regarded Booth carefully as he relayed this information. "She stayed here and talked to those bones; according to the night guard she's been doing that a lot lately. There was a time when she would have gone to you for answers and now? Now she's trying to get them from a pile of bones on a table and the night guard knows more about what's going on with her than her partner does."

Booth leaned back against the table and then lifted a hand to the back of his neck. He tried not to picture Brennan spending the entire weekend on the forensic platform because it hurt and he couldn't start down that path again with her. Finally he looked up at Max and said, "Maybe I'm not as involved in her life right now but I still care about her as much as you do. I'll make her talk to me and I'll figure out what's going on with her right now but you can't blame me for trying to balance Hannah and work the best way I know how. I deserve to be happy too."

Max knew there was some piece of the puzzle he was missing here. Whatever had sent the two of them running from D.C. was clearly still very present. It was like the mastodon that had been set up on the forensic platform while they'd been away. It was gone now but its essence was still there, filling the space and forcing everyone to whisper as they carefully stepped around it. "That's not what I blame you for," he replied evenly.

"Then what?"

"I blame you for showing her that her life could be different and then walking away. There was a time when she could have handled this - all of this. The problem is that now she understands the difference between what is and what could be and it's made her sad. It's made her sad in a way that hurts me to see because she's my baby and I love her. As much as I'd like to, as her father I can't forgive you for that right now." Max walked away without a backward glance. He might be too old to actually punch Booth, but he could deliver a metaphorical blow or two. He just hoped that would be enough to spur him to some sort of action.

**Up next - Judas on a Pole**


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